


you'll always have a place here

by SaraJaye



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/F, Nohrians running to Hoshidans for comfort, Snacks & Snack Food, verbally abusive parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-27
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-05-23 14:21:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 718
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6119127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaraJaye/pseuds/SaraJaye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You know what the worst part is?" Camilla said, thumping down her half-empty soda bottle. "Three years ago, he never would have done this."</p>
            </blockquote>





	you'll always have a place here

She didn't even have to ask what happened when Camilla came through the door in a rage, and Camilla didn't have to explain.

"Go on up to my room so you can get warm," Hinoka said. "I'll get us some snacks."

"Crunchy ones, with lots of salt," Camilla said through clenched teeth. The pun wasn't lost on Hinoka, who loaded a tray with bowls of potato chips, pretzels, her favorite blue cheese dip and two bottles of soda. When she joined her girlfriend in her bedroom, Camilla was draped in the worn-out throw blanket Mother had given her for Christmas two years ago.

"What did he say this time?" Hinoka asked. Camilla stuffed a couple chips into her mouth, chewing noisily, swallowing angrily and wiping her mouth on her sleeve.

"What _didn't_ he say? Every time one of his ex-girlfriends calls he's in a bad mood for days and God forbid you need him for anything. Elise had to take the bus to school because she was afraid to ask for a ride and Xander's car is still in the shop. Leo got an earful for borrowing a book- _which_ put back in the right place, I might add, and left in perfect condition. And me, well..." She shook her head, laughing bitterly. "Apparently I'm spending too much time here lately! I'm being disloyal to my family, _just like my mother_ before she walked out!"

Hinoka sat silently as her girlfriend vented her frustrations, sipping her soda, nibbling on a pretzel. This wasn't just a regular occurence for Camilla; for the past year, she and her siblings had spent more time at the Byakuya homestead than at their own. Leo kept a toothbrush in their bathroom, Elise kept a pair of fuzzy slippers in Sakura's closet, and before they'd moved into their own apartment Ryoma always left an extra blanket folded on the couch for Xander.

So many times Hinoka had wished they could just _live_ here. Sure, it'd be crowded with the eight of them plus her sisters Corrin and cousin Azura, but Mother and Father wouldn't mind...would they?

"You know what the worst part is?" Camilla said, thumping down her half-empty soda bottle. "Three years ago, he never would have done this. The old Garon would have walked Elise to school himself, or had a long discussion with Leo about the book he borrowed. He..." Her voice dropped, and Hinoka could swear she heard it breaking a little. "He used to _love_ us, Hinoka. That's what hurts, remembering how things _were_."

"Camilla..." Hinoka sighed, sliding closer to the other woman and wrapping her arms around her. "Maybe he just needs to see a therapist, so he can stop-"

"He doesn't believe in it." Camilla shook her head. "He thinks it's for weaklings with too much time on their hands. Believe me, I've tried to talk him into it and it always ended with a fight and him storming out of the room. This is how he is now, a bitter old _bastard_ who yells at Leo for reading his books and thinks I should stay home and be a _maid_...!"

Hinoka tightened her embrace, letting her girlfriend lean on her, trying to ignore the sinking of her own heart at the realization that this was all she could do. The Byakuya family could open their home, but that wouldn't turn Garon back to the father he'd once been. It wouldn't take back all the verbal abuse, the fear, the anger.

Hinoka hadn't had a chance to know the old Garon, her family had only met the Anya siblings a year and a half ago and they spoke so little of their father she wondered if they were orphaned, Xander and Camilla in charge.

_We might as well have been,_ Camilla had said once. It wasn't until she met the man that Hinoka understood.

"Stay as long as you want," she finally said. "I'll let Mother and Corrin know to make extra for dinner tonight."

"A _lot_ extra," Camilla laughed weakly. "I think Leo might be dropping by with Elise later."

The dinner table was crowded that night. Camilla laughed and smiled and teased everyone as though nothing had happened earlier, just like she always did after a fight with Garon.

_This is enough for now._


End file.
